Crossing Border
Crossing Border is a Dutch non-profit founded in 1992 that produces the annual Crossing Border Festival in Den Haag, an international literature and music event, plus year-round programming at its Borderkitchen venue. It serves literary and music audiences across the Netherlands and Belgium through ticketed events, cultural subsidies, and publisher partnerships.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1992
- HeadquartersDen Haag, Netherlands
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Crossing Border does
Crossing Border is a privately organized, non-profit cultural organization founded in 1992 in Den Haag (The Hague), Netherlands, that produces one of the country's oldest and most prominent international literature and music festivals. The organization's core product is the annual Crossing Border Festival, held each November (the 33rd edition ran in 2025, the 2026 edition is scheduled for November 3-8, 2026), featuring over 130 international artists across multiple venues in The Hague and combining contemporary literature with pop music and other cultural programming. Complementing the main festival, Crossing Border operates Borderkitchen, a year-round literary venue at Kerkstraat 13 in Den Haag that hosts author talks, interviews, and smaller cultural events, as well as The Chronicles, an annual residency program for emerging Dutch and international writers with simultaneous translation.
The organization's business model is primarily transaction-based, generating revenue through ticket sales via the Stager online ticketing platform at unit price points of approximately €11-€16 per event depending on programming tier (day programme vs. main festival evening). This is supplemented by cultural funding and sponsorship from Dutch institutions including Letterenfonds (Netherlands Foundation for Literature), Fonds21, Dioraphte, and municipal support from the City of The Hague, alongside a network of publisher and venue partners (Koninklijke Schouwburg, Theater aan het Spui, Theater Dakota, Theater Branoul, Mauritshuis). Crossing Border also operates a parallel festival edition, Crossing Border Antwerp, extending its footprint into Belgium. Marketing and audience development run through owned channels including Facebook, YouTube, Spotify playlists, Instagram, TikTok, email newsletters, and direct ticketing. The organization employs 11-50 staff and has no disclosed external investment, parent company, or funding rounds.
Crossing Border firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Crossing Border
- Legal name
- Crossing Border
- Website
- https://crossingborder.nl
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1992
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Crossing Border is a Dutch non-profit founded in 1992 that produces the annual Crossing Border Festival in Den Haag, an international literature and music event, plus year-round programming at its Borderkitchen venue. It serves literary and music audiences across the Netherlands and Belgium through ticketed events, cultural subsidies, and publisher partnerships.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Crossing Border industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Literary and Music Festival
- NAICS
- Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events without Facilities (711320), Other Performing Arts Companies (711190)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Cultural & Community Festivals (Ticketed) (THAJAFAI)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Concerts & Music Festivals (THAJAFAA)
Keywords
Where Crossing Border is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Den Haag
- HQ country
- Netherlands
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Crossing Border business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Ticket Sales: The festival generates revenue primarily through ticket sales for festival events, performances, and interviews. Tickets are sold via stager.co platform for various events including festival evenings, day programmes, and individual author/musician appearances.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Day Programme interview events |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Main festival evening events |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Author event tickets |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
Crossing Border product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Crossing Border operates an annual international literature and music festival held each November in Den Haag (and an edition in Antwerp), featuring over 130 international artists across multiple stages. It also runs the year-round Borderkitchen literary venue at Kerkstraat 13 in Den Haag, which hosts author talks, interviews, and cultural events outside the festival window. Ticketed events are sold via the stager.co platform.
Product overview
Crossing Border operates a portfolio of cultural products centered around literature and music. The primary offering is the Crossing Border Festival, an annual international literature and music festival held November 3-8, 2026 in The Hague, featuring over 130 artists across multiple stages. Complementing the festival is Borderkitchen, a year-round literary venue hosting ongoing events at Kerkstraat 13. Additionally, The Chronicles is an annual residency project where emerging writers and translators create and translate festival stories during the event. The organization also offers ticketed events and audio/video content including aftermovies.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Crossing Border Festival Annual international literature and music festival held each November in Den Haag (with an Antwerp edition), featuring 130+ international artists across multiple stages. Combines contemporary authors with pop, indie, and alternative musicians in crossover programming. Tickets are sold via the stager.co platform.
- Borderkitchen Literary Venue Year-round literary venue at Kerkstraat 13 in Den Haag, hosting ticketed author talks, interviews, and cultural events outside the November festival window. Operated as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Crossing Border.
- The Chronicles Residency Project Annual writers-in-residence and translation programme during the Crossing Border Festival, where emerging writers create daily festival stories and translators provide near-simultaneous translations. Content is published on the Crossing Border website.
Quantifiable outcome
- Sold-out 33rd edition with 130+ international artists
Companies that use Crossing Border
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Crossing Border technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Crossing Border partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Letterenfonds (NLF)coreNetherlands Foundation for Literature providing support and funding for literary programming at the festival
- Fonds21coreCultural fund supporting literature and arts programming at the festival
- De Groene AmsterdammerminorDutch weekly magazine partnership for literary content and promotion
- Gemeente Den Haag (City of The Hague)coreMunicipal partner and host city for the festival, providing venue and logistical support
- Koninklijke SchouwburgcoreMain venue partner for festival evening events in The Hague
- DioraphteminorPublisher partner with international literary focus
- MauritshuisminorCultural institution partnership for cross-disciplinary events
- Theater DakotaminorTheater partnership for intimate literary events
- Theater BranoulminorTheater partnership for literary programming
- Multiple Publishers (De Bezige Bij, De Geus, Querido, Prometheus, etc.)minorNetwork of Dutch and international publishers as festival partners and sponsors, including De Bezige Bij, De Geus, Querido, Prometheus, Meulenhoff, Cossee, and others
- StagercoreTicketing platform partner for online ticket sales and event management
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Crossing Border competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Berliner Festspiele / Berlin International Literature Festival: Berlin's international literature festival within the Berliner Festspiele programme. Directly comparable as a multi-venue German-language and European literature festival with author events and crossover cultural programming.
- Hay Festival: One of the world's leading literary festivals, founded in 1988 in Hay-on-Wye. Directly comparable to Crossing Border as a flagship international literature festival attracting global authors, with crossovers into music and broader cultural programming.
- Melbourne Writers Festival: Major international literature festival held annually in Melbourne. Directly comparable to Crossing Border in scale, audience demographics and format — ticketed author talks, panels and crossover cultural events.
- Edinburgh International Book Festival: The largest public book festival in the world, run annually in Edinburgh alongside the August festivals. Directly comparable to Crossing Border in programming international authors, ticketed author interviews, and crossover cultural events.
- Festivaletteratura (Mantua): Annual literature festival in Mantua, Italy, known for distinctive multi-venue programming with international authors. Directly comparable to Crossing Border in literati focus, multi-venue staging and European cultural positioning.
- Cheltenham Literature Festival: The UK's oldest literary festival, founded in 1949. Comparable to Crossing Border as an established ticketed international literature festival with crossover programming and a strong author-interview format.
Regional players
- Writers Unlimited: Annual international literature festival in The Hague and The Netherlands focused on writers from conflict regions and global literature. Directly comparable as a Dutch literature festival with shared The Hague geography and shared cultural-funding ecosystem.
Broad incumbents
- SXSW: Austin-based annual festival spanning music, film and literature/education. Comparable to Crossing Border in the explicit crossover of literature with music and live programming, and in serving as a platform for emerging international talent.
- Holland Festival: The Netherlands' leading international performing arts festival, based in Amsterdam. Comparable to Crossing Border as a Dutch flagship cultural event but at larger scale, broader discipline (theatre, music, dance) and with overlapping Dutch public-funding ecosystem.
- Primavera Sound: Major European music festival with editions in Barcelona, Madrid and São Paulo. Overlaps with Crossing Border in the music-festival category, crossover arts programming and ticketed live-event model, though music-led rather than literature-led.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Crossing Border social profiles
Digital presenceCrossing Border financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Crossing Border leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Crossing Border subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Crossing Border funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Crossing Border M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Crossing Border
What does Crossing Border do?
Crossing Border operates an annual international literature and music festival held each November in Den Haag (and an edition in Antwerp), featuring over 130 international artists across multiple stages. It also runs the year-round Borderkitchen literary venue at Kerkstraat 13 in Den Haag, which hosts author talks, interviews, and cultural events outside the festival window. Ticketed events are sold via the stager.co platform.
Is Crossing Border a public or private company?
Crossing Border is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Crossing Border founded?
Crossing Border was founded in 1992. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Crossing Border based?
Crossing Border is headquartered in Den Haag, Netherlands, in the Europe region.
How does Crossing Border make money?
One revenue line is on record: ticket Sales.
Who are Crossing Border's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Berliner Festspiele / Berlin International Literature Festival, Hay Festival, Melbourne Writers Festival, Edinburgh International Book Festival, Festivaletteratura (Mantua) and Cheltenham Literature Festival. Writers Unlimited is listed as a regional player. Broad incumbents are SXSW, Holland Festival and Primavera Sound.
Does Crossing Border have an API?
No public API is recorded for Crossing Border.
What industry is Crossing Border in?
Crossing Border's product category is Literary and Music Festival. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAJAFAI, Cultural & Community Festivals (Ticketed), with a secondary code of THAJAFAA, Concerts & Music Festivals. Its NAICS code is 711320.